Don't extinguish my fire – Understanding public resistance to a Swedish policy aimed at reducing particle emissions by phasing out old wood stoves

• Wood stoves emit particulate matter when used for domestic heating. Consequently, the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning in Sweden enforced a prohibition of new installations of old wood stoves in 2017 to protect the public health. The prohibition caused a public backlash that organized itself as a “wood stove rising”, eventually leading to a cancellation of the new legislation in 2019. We performed comprehensive interviews with 11 signatories of the original appeal to analyze the underlying motives for combating the implementation of this pro-environmental energy policy. We find that domestic heating through fire-making is an age-old human behavior that is deeply connected to several social and emotional human needs, but also to survival in remote areas with cold climate. The likelihood of policy observance and acceptance is higher if the policy is not perceived as being in direct conflict with these needs: basic emotion regulation, sensations of tradition and connection to other people, and means of crisis management for the individual. We also find that the protesters acted out of a sustainability perspective, albeit one where the continued use of functional devices was valued more than the perceived wear-and-tear of replacing outdated technology. © 2022 The Authors

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Studier av offentlig förvaltning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Public Administration Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Energiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Energy Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Domestic heating

Emission regulation

Emotional motives

Pro-environmental legislation

Public acceptance

Public backlash

Environmental regulations

Fire resistance

Fires

Sustainable development

Wood

Emissions regulations

Emotional motive

Environmental legislations

Reducing particle

Swedishs

Wood stove

Behavioral research

cooking appliance

particulate matter

public health

public sector

Sweden

Public acceptance

Domestic heating

Emotional motives

Public backlash

Emission regulation

Pro-environmental legislation

air-pollution

pollutants

support

disease

Business & Economics

Energy & Fuels

Environmental Sciences & Ecology

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